The construction industry comes with a great deal of risk from the operation and maintenance of high-dollar value assets to on-the-job safety. Yet, construction insurance claims could be the highest risk, at least financially, that you must face.
According to a recent report on construction disputes, the global average value of a construction dispute ranged from $37.9 million to $86 million and lasted 13.4 months on average. The highest value single dispute was $4 billion!
Even if you have the best construction insurance available, the burden of navigating a dispute on top of everything else you do in your business is overwhelming for many. Not to mention, the long-term impact a claim of any size has on your insurance premium. If you want to remain competitive in today’s market, you will need to keep your insurance premium down. Just as it is better to do preventive maintenance than reactive, the most effective way to do so is to take preventive measures to avoid disputes, claims, and potential litigation. That includes risk management, contract and specification reviews, third-party schedule reviews, and constructability reviews.
Using Redlist for your business enables you to build the risk management and reviews right into your processes. Here’s how each of the three Redlist modules help to protect against costly insurance claims:
Redlist Operations Software
The first step in operations risk management is to meet with a legal team and insurance provider to develop ironclad Terms and Conditions for all the services you offer. Once those are set, they can be input into Redlist and leveraged to provide protection.
- Terms and Conditions automatically attached to every quote or rental agreement sent to customers — The customer reviews and signs, documenting their agreement to the terms. The signed agreement is uploaded and attached to the job in Redlist to easily refer back to if needed.
- Signed Pre-Work Authorization/Indemnification/Customer Responsibility Agreement — Get digital sign off in the field using the Redlist mobile app. This ensures that your company is covered before operators and crews begin work.
- Signed Service Ticket — After completing work, use Redlist to get customer sign off on the work that was completed. You can even take pictures of the work area and attach to the service ticket with any other documentation to ensure your company doesn’t get blamed for things that happened after leaving the site.
Redlist Maintenance Software
When it comes to construction disputes and insurance claims, records of what was done can make all the difference in defending your position. On a project that involves heavy machinery and other equipment, you want to have maintenance and inspection records for all of those assets. With Redlist, it is incredibly simple to log that data and pull a report whenever you may need it.
- Digital Pre and Post-Op Equipment Inspections — Operators and crew members can complete their inspections, submit, and sign digitally every time a piece of equipment is used.
- Maintenance Records — Redlist tracks every preventive and corrective task that has been performed, so there are no questions as to the state of your equipment.
- Detailed Asset History — This feature allows you to view every job an asset has been on, every maintenance task that has ever been performed, every inspection, and the status of all certifications for a piece of equipment all in one place.
Redlist Health & Safety Software
Insurance companies look at your past claims and workplace safety issues to determine your level of risk and calculate your premium. For worker’s comp insurance, this is called your Experience Modification Rating (EMR). The lower the EMR, the lower the insurance premium. Cultivating a safety culture is essential to keep your EMR low and avoid disputes or claims. There are many additional benefits to using Redlist for this, including reducing incidents and saving on OSHA fines.
- Certifications and Training Tracking — You can ensure that all employees and equipment have the proper certifications and training needed to perform the required work. Redlist removes the need to manually track expiration dates, as you can be notified prior to certifications and training expiring.
- Certifications and Training Access — How many times have you or a customer asked about certifications and you didn’t have the answer? It’s often because certifications are stored in an employee file, a spreadsheet, or a beat up certification card in their wallet. Redlist stores this information for quick access whenever you need it.
- Incident/Accident Reports — With the Redlist mobile app, you can accurately and quickly capture incident data. You can configure an incident investigation form and allow employees to include photos that are stored with the form. This helps remove any misunderstandings or miscommunications about what happened during an incident.
- In-Field Training — When you hold in-field training, you can collect digital sign off from all of those in attendance.
Considering that an average insurance premium can cost 1 to 4% of your total project cost, your premium can make or break your business. Whether you use one Redlist module or all three, building risk management into your processes is essential. And, as illustrated above, investing in these processes brings more than just lower premiums. You will have better-maintained assets, a safer workplace, improved productivity, and a streamlined customer experience.
